Concern development plans for Port Hedland may be hindered by iron ore dust

By Kathryn Diss
Fri Jul 26 19:11:07 EST 2013

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Concerns over health impacts from iron ore dust near the Port Hedland port are holding up approvals for new developments (file).

Stephen Stockwell

"We're now in a stage of our development we really need to enhance the living experience of being here, everyone accepts that it's critical we get social amenity into the town."

That's Port Hedland real estate agent Morag Lowe.

She's lived in the town for almost 10 years and witnessed the community grow on the back on the booming iron ore game.

While the industry has continued to grow and flourish, its residents have languished.

But there's plans to change that with a multi-million-dollar development of the foreshore in the town's West End, near the port.

It's something residents have long called for.

"The economic viability of the town going forward I think is virtually guaranteed, this is definitely a project that would go a long way to creating a fabulous recreational project for people to enjoy," Ms Lowe said.

The $152-million precinct would have high rise apartments, a cafe strip on the waterfront and a marina to cater for hundreds of recreational boaters.

But it doesn't end there, there are also plans for a privately funded block of high density apartments on land across the road from the marina, which currently houses the old and disused hospital site.

Port Hedland Mayor Kelly Howlett says it will become a key component of the precinct, providing short stay accommodation, cafes and offices.

"The Finbar site is really important, there's a linkage between the development for the site and the plans for the marina precinct," she said.

"Together they would create that amenity, that recreation, that cultural experience of being able to recreate and be beside the water."

Challenges

But it doesn't come without challenges.

The apartment proposal is the first to start the approvals process and its developers want the land rezoned to residential to allow for high density living.

While council has agreed to the rezoning, others haven't.

It's received objections from the region's biggest iron ore exporter, B-H-P Billiton, as well as the Department of State Development and the Department of Health.

They've all objected to it on the grounds of exposure to iron ore dust from the nearby port.

They say they can't support it until the impacts of the dust are made clearer when a study into possible health hazards is finished in two years.

It's an issue the region's Member of Parliament, Brendon Grylls, is trying to resolve.

"We have to take that into consideration, so we're looking at the design profile of any development, trying to design out any risk from dust," he says.

"But again, I think it needs to be taken into context. If the dust is a problem, you do whatever you can in developments to mitigate it but it's also up to the proponent that creates the dust, to manage the dust and try to keep it contained to the port."

He says early results from the study show dust levels are actually reducing and while he understands government departments are being cautious, he sees BHP's opposition as somewhat ironic.

"BHP's workers all do work in that precinct, BHP were the original proponent for the development on the hospital site, so they proposed to have their work force living on that site, they then withdrew and Finbar become the proponent," Mr Grylls said.

The marina development is yet to begin the approvals process but even its supporterss accept it's likely to face the same challenges as the apartment proposal.

"The challenges are actually enormous, they're really challenges created by the location," Ms Lowe said.

She says throughout her time in the town, she's seen demand for housing outstrip supply, driven by dramatic growth in the iron ore industry.

It's pushed rents to unbearable levels, forcing many to leave town.

Ms Lowe sees any chance to increase housing as a blessing but she also has concerns about whether it should be built near the port.

"There's one side that are of the belief that it shouldn't go there, there's another sizeable number of people in the community that think its the ideal location for it," she said.

"I think we've probably reached the stage before we spend any more money on the planning of this development that we actually sit down and have a conversation around it.

"Actually ask ourselves if the obstacles are so fixed and impossible to negotiate around, then maybe we should be looking at a plan B."

Business uncertainty

It's an uncertainty the town's business lobby says needs to be resolved and quickly.

Arnold Carter from the local chamber of commerce and industry says while doubt hangs over the project's viability, most businesses will be reluctant to count on it.

"You're asking commercial enterprises to come up with a possibility of support of something that's three years down the track," he said.

"Half of those people would have gone by then."

Mr Carter has lived in the town for more than half a century and owned several businesses in the area.

"I'm concerned about the objections, are they going to be there in three years time?," he said.

"As you know it's 15-18 [months] before we're going to get the EPA report, and is that going to be the start or is that going to be the finish? that's the uncertainty about it.

"It would be a wonderful thing, a wonderful thing for Port Hedland, and it would certainly be a thing I'd love to see happen but I treat it with doubt."

Solution

The building plans for the apartment proposal and the objections have now been handed to the WA Planning Commission which has the final say on how and if the project will be built.

It could be a long process but Brendon Grylls says the project was always going to face a challenging approvals process.

"I want to make sure we work our way through both planning and EPA approvals," he said.

"With Landcorp as the proponent for the marina and Finbar as the proponent for the apartment development, we'll use that advice to deliver the best outcomes for the community."

But the council is refusing to admit defeat and remains adamant the project will proceed in its proposed form, delivering the housing and facilities the town desperately needs.

"We're still ambitiously looking to both developments taking place, they are both integral and really add to creating that hub, that's what we want a hub around the marina," Ms Howlett said.

A struggle that appears to be far from over but one the local community isn't willing to give up without a fight.